Airbus schedules first A350F freighter flight for September 29, 2026

Airbus has set September 29, 2026 for the first flight of its A350F cargo aircraft, and says the flight will be streamed live for the public. The company announced the timing on social media. Takeoff is set for 10:20 local time in Toulouse, GMT+2. The date was confirmed on September 25.

According to Airbus, the maiden flight comes after five years of planning and testing of components and demonstrators. Earlier in the month the manufacturer said it was moving on from a "Virtual First Flight" milestone toward the real flight. A test A350F has recently been carrying out high-speed rejected takeoffs at Toulouse.

Laurent Bussiere, lead flight test engineer on the programme, said the freighter needs extensive testing even though it is derived from the A350-1000. Its fuselage combines the forward section of an A350-900 with the rear section and wings of an A350-1000, he said. That produces a new aerodynamic model that changes how the aircraft is controlled, while revised landing gear geometry alters ground handling.

Bussiere described the aircraft as sitting between the two existing models rather than matching either. That difference, he said, is why engineers work in a development simulator to prepare both for the first flight and for the flight test campaign that follows, which is planned to cover about 400 flight hours.

Five people will be on board for the first flight: two pilots, a test flight engineer and two flight test engineers. Certification is expected to take roughly nine months and will use two test aircraft, MSN700 and MSN701.